A MOTION urging Keir Starmer to call Israel’s military attack on Gaza a genocide has passed at Labour’s party conference.
An emergency motion had been submitted to today's conference in Liverpool calling on the party to accept “the findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry that Israel is committing a genocide”, moved by the Unison trade union group.
The motion also called “on the British Government to take urgent action” against Israel, including “a full arms embargo”.
After initially being scheduled for debate on Monday morning, the debate was delayed until the late afternoon.
It comes as a motion reaffirming the UK Government’s position that there is a “risk” of genocide in Gaza was rejected by members.
Groans could be heard on the conference floor as the motion supportive of the UK Government's position fell, with an official explaining this was due to the "weight of affiliated votes".
The National spoke with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign's director, Ben Jamal, just after the vote who said that Labour had attempted to "suppress" the vote from happening.
"They tried to steer the debate by not selecting any speaker in support of our motion, but despite all of that, it's passed overwhelmingly. It had the full support of every single trade union and a significant proportion of delegates.
"It is a seismic vote, it means that the Labour Party has now accepted that Israel is committing a genocide, accepted the facts of the UN Commission of Inquiry, and everything that follows from that, and that means that Labour must introduce comprehensive sanctions, a full arms embargo, and take action against any corporation that is aiding and abetting genocide."
He added: "And if the Labour leadership decides to ignore this vote. Well, not only will it be out of sync with public opinion, the wilful denial of the facts, it will be at war with its own party."
The emergency motion was lodged after Labour’s Conference Arrangement Committee (CAC) rejected 30 motions on Palestine from being debated at the event.
It comes after the UK Government ruled that Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza – contradicting a mounting body of international experts who say otherwise.
Just two weeks later, a United Nations Commission investigation found that four of the five requirements for an offensive to be considered genocide have been met.
And, we told how police arrested 66 people outside the Labour Party conference for supporting unlawful terror organisation Palestine Action.
Two were later released, but the other 64 who were arrested on suspicion of a terrorism offence were then taken into custody, Merseyside Police said on Monday.
